This Is What It's Come To
by luvin-benadam
Summary: It's been four years since Meredith and Derek have seen eachother. And now he's back. She's got a secret that going to turn everything upside down .. similiar to my other story Collide
1. Routine

**Ok I totally changed this story … I just wasn't happy with it. Before Meredith was the patient but I've given up on that and now I'm making Meredith the doctor working on Derek's case … which also means that I have to change the second chapter. So for all you guys who were reading the first version, sorry that I changed it but I think it'll be better this way. Enjoy!**

_Sometimes, you just have to take that leap of faith and hope that something's going to catch you on the way down. If nothing does … well then I guess you're screwed. But most of the time we honestly can't say for certain that something's going to break our fall; that something's going to be there to pull us back up to our feet again. Or someone. We can't always rely on someone else to be there to clean up our messes, to catch us when we fall. Sometimes, that leap of faith involves standing tall and strong, even if it means standing alone. _

The morning was routine, down-pact, solid as anything. And for some strange reason that bothered him. It had never bothered him before. He had liked the solitude of it, the dependency it carried. Now it was just downright annoying. Addison walked into the kitchen and placed a kiss on his cheek, as usual, and he slid her the cup of coffee he made her every morning. And as always, she grabbed the sugar jar and added a spoonful more than what he had already put in. At first it had just been a mistake, a habit he had forgotten since they moved back to Manhattan. Now he just did it to annoy her.

She smiled faintly across the table at him as he slid her the crust from his toast. She took the plate obligingly, just like every other morning, and raised it to her lips, a few light crumbs sticking to her morning lips. From somewhere in the living room, the phone rang. They both looked up from their papers, startled by the interruption in their annoying morning ritual. Derek pushed back his chair, the legs scraping against the cold tile of the floor as he left the kitchen and answered the phone.

"Hello?" His voice was still somewhat groggy from his lack of sleep the night before. Addison had been tossing and turning all night, mumbling things in her sleep that sounded all too much like, 'Oh Mark!'

"Dr Shepherd?" a somewhat familiar voice said from the other line. He scrunched his face up in concentration, trying to put a face to the voice.

"Dr Yang," he said suddenly, turning his back to the kitchen so Addison wouldn't overhear. "It's been awhile."

"Ya it has," she said, her voice sounding far off and distant as though something was on her mind.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked, walking back into the kitchen and mouthing the word 'work' to Addison as he passed her and walked up the stairs for better privacy. It had been two years since he had left and if Christina was calling, then something must have been really wrong.

"Ya actually you can," she said, shuffling with a piece of paper in her hand uncomfortably. "The chief wants you back. Not permanently, although he would keep you here if he could, but he needs a neuro-surgeon on a case right away. The longer we wait the lesser the patient's chances of survival. He sent the tickets to you through email and you should get them any minute," she said in a hurry. Of all the people to do this … it had to be her.

Shepherd remained silent. There was something Christina wasn't telling him, he could tell by the strain in her voice. But he decided not to push the matter. After all he had chosen his wife over Dr Yang's best friend and then decided to move back to New York with Satan herself. He had no right to pry into their business.

"What's her status?" he asked, snapping out of his reverie and pulling a suitcase from his closet, dumping it on the bed, and filling it with clothes as she talked.

"Woman in her late twenties, presented two nights ago with severe head trauma from a car accident. We believe there to be inter-cranial haemorrhaging and bleeding in the brain but we need a surgeon qualified for the procedure. Webber wants you."

Derek finished stuffing the last of his clothes into the suitcase and slammed it shut, sitting on it to get it to close all the way. "Is she conscious?" he asked, clamping the lock down heavily and jumping off of the case, hoping to God that it wouldn't spring open.

"In and out. She's in bad shape."

Derek nodded on the other end of the phone, unaware of the fact that Christina couldn't see him.

"Dr Shepherd?" she prompted.

"Oh, right!" he said. "I'll be on the next flight out," he said. "And Christina?" he asked, hesitant on asking the question. "How is everyone?" he flinched, wondering whether she would see right through his question.

"Meredith's fine," she replied, smiling slightly to herself, glad that Derek couldn't see her.

"Right. Well … I'll be there soon," he said as he hung up the phone and hoisted the suitcase from the bed. He stopped at the top of the stairs, wondering how he was going to explain this to Addison. Figuring he was just going to wing it, he took slow steps down the hardwood staircase, pausing at the bottom long enough to register the sound of the shower running down the hall.

Thanking God, he quickly scribbled her a hurried note explaining that he was needed on a consult on the West Coast, not giving any specific details. He knew that Addison would see right through his vague details and would probably come after him but right now, he couldn't have cared less.

XXXXXXXXXX

Izzie held the little girl in her arms, running her finger's through the girl's soft, dark hair, fingering the little curls that lay so perfectly at the tips. The house was dark and quiet, nothing but the noise of the running shower on the next floor to break the deafening silence. Christina was seated beside her, watching in disgust and admiration at the way Izzie handled the child. She showed so much affection, so much love, it almost … _almost … _made Christina sad.

"Shift starts in twenty minutes. George better hurry up," Christina said, picking a spot on her fingernail. The darkness of the morning and the fact that there were no lights on to allow the little girl to sleep made it increasingly impossible to remove the dirt that was bothering her to no end.

"I'm sure Bailey will give us a little leeway," Izzie whispered, leaning her head towards Christina as to not wake the child.

"What about Taylor? Where's she gonna go while we're working?" Dr Yang asked, reaching over and running a cold finger down the side of Taylor's leg, little goose bumps popping up where she touched her.

"The same place she's gone for most of her life while we work; the daycare centre. I know we all hate sending her there but there's really no other choice," Izzie said, draping the blanket from the back of the couch over Taylor's shivering body to shield out the cold.

The little girl shivered slightly in her sleep, breathing in a huge sigh before turning over and finding a more comfortable spot on Izzie's chest. The blonde smiled at the comfort she felt holding her. Christina pretended to gag. Izzie reached over, careful not to disturb Taylor in her lap, and smacked Christina upside the head. The feisty young, dark-haired doctor was about to hit her back when George walked into the living room, breaking up any traces of the would-be catfight.

He glanced questioningly around the room before shrugging his shoulders and moving to the hall to put on his shoes. Izzie and Christina, who already had their shoes on, followed George out the front door and to the car which was sitting in the driveway.

Izzie climbed carefully into the back with Taylor while Christina took the wheel and George rode shotgun. The day had just begun but they could already tell that it was going to be extremely long.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Izzie still had the almost four year old wrapped up in the blanket in her arms as the threesome walked into the hospital, attempting to shield Taylor from the loud noises and beeping that made up Seattle Grace. But they were attempting the inevitable. Taylor stirred from her slumber and opened her large eyes that everyone admired, taking in the familiar surroundings. Izzie, George and Christina stopped at the nurses' station while George signed Taylor into the daycare centre. Christina suddenly hit Izzie on the arm, hard, all the while staring at a spot a few feet ahead of her. Izzie whipped around, prepared to retaliate, when she saw what Christina was gaping at.

There, standing not ten feet in front of them was Derek Shepherd. Two years had not changed a single thing about the man. Luckily for them, Dr Shepherd was facing the other way, giving Izzie time to walk backwards into the daycare centre. But she wasn't quite quick enough.

Derek wheeled around at the sound of metal hitting floor in time to see Izzie, a little girl in her grasp, staring wide-eyed in front of her to Dr Shepherd, seemingly completely unaware of the fact that she had just walked into a cart of supplies. She quickly turned on her heel and ran, immediately followed by Christina and George. Only O'Malley had to decency to give him a little encouraging smile as he ran off.

Derek shrugged his shoulders, wondering what the hell they were up to. Shaking off his curiosity, he walked to the nurses' station and tapped the counter, receiving the attention of the plump nurse whom he did not recognise.

"Excuse me, hi," he said, plastering a charming smile onto his face. But apparently she was unimpressed by the nature of his good looks and simply stared at him. Derek cleared his throat, unnerved and left wondering whether his charm was wearing off.

"Um …" he started, wondering how to regain his composure. "I'm Doctor Derek Shepherd from New York. I was brought here for a consult from Chief Webber," he said, trying another smile.

The large woman continued to stare at him intently though uninterestedly for another second before pulling a case file from the large stack in front of her.

"Fourth floor, room 209 on your left. Patient is Amber Rainer, twenty- two years old. I'll page the resident on the case and tell her to meet you up there," she said in her monotone voice.

Derek smiled charmingly and took the file, turning on his heel and walking back towards the elevator.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Meredith stood with her back to the door, looking over her young patient and listening to the questions Amber was asking her. Meredith flipped open the file, eyes scanning vaguely over the details.

"Amber you have nothing to worry about. The chief just told me that they're bringing in a specialist that has done this surgery many times," Meredith reassured her. "Let me see if I can find the name …" she said, turning another one of the many pages in the file. "Ah here we go," she said, finding the word 'Resident Specialist' and tracing her finger along the blank space to the name. "Dr …" she faltered, turning when she heard the door behind her open. There, after almost four years, stood Derek Shepherd.

"Shepherd," Meredith finished, her eyes still locked with Derek's.


	2. Taylor

He stood beside her bed, staring intently into the face of the young girl with vibrant red hair that reminded him guiltily of Addison. Her eyes were closed in sleep, darting slightly back in forth, following whatever she was seeing in her dream. A large, deep gash ran from the middle of her forehead to her ear, carefully stitched up and bandaided over.

The sound of shoes echoing off the hospital walls greeted his ears but he refused to turn around, refused to let his eyes leave the startlingly beautiful woman who was now his patient. He hoped it was Meredith. When they ran into each other in Amber's room hours earlier, she swiftly turned back to the patient and said she would be back to check on her later. Derek hadn't seen her since.

A warm, blonde body walked up beside him, stopping next to him and watching Amber asleep in the bed. No words were said, her presence was enough.

"Izzie," Derek said, running his fingers through his hair. "Long time no see," he said, his voice holding a smile. He didn't know just how hostile everyone was going to be to him now that he was back; four years after he had left. "When Christina called me, I wasn't going to come. I didn't know if I could face everyone," Derek said. Izzie still had not spoken.

"But you did," Izzie said quietly. Derek was silent.

"Hey, who was that little girl that was with you earlier?" he asked, finally turning towards her and noticing Izzie's face pale a little.

She was silent for a minute, debating on how to answer his question. Her, George, Christine and Meredith had gone over what they would say if this question ever came up. "Taylor," she answered simply, wondering if he would get the hint that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Whose kid?" Derek pried again. He couldn't, for the life of him, get the image of the little girl's pretty face and familiar eyes out of his head.

Izzie was silent again, confirming Derek's suspicions that she was Meredith's, or at least related to her. Taylor's eyes were too identical to Meredith's to not be somewhat a part of her.

"Meredith's I'm guessing … judging by your silence," he said with a slight smirk. She smiled guiltily back.

"It's ok Izzie. Really, it is," he told her unconvincingly. "I'm glad that she's moved on with her life, that she didn't just … give up … for lack of a better term, after I left," he continued, smiling at her again.

"How's Addison?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly.

Derek smiled, aware of the quick subject change. "She's good," Derek said, returning his eyes to Amber's sleeping face. "Or not. Depending on how you look at it," he said with another smile. Izzie couldn't tell if he was joking with her or not. So she settled for a simple smile back. "She lost a baby the other day, one of her patients. Poor little kid held on for so long … Addy waited for him to get stronger so she could operate. He did … and then he died during surgery. She was pretty broken up, still is."

This time Izzie didn't smile. She hung her head long, a pang of guilt for her own daughter weighing heavily in her chest.

"Can I meet her?" Derek asked suddenly, tearing his eyes off of Amber's face and turning to fully face Izzie.

"Who?" she asked, confused.

Derek took a deep breath, wondering what the repercussions of his question were going to be. "Taylor. I want to meet her. And I highly doubt that Meredith is going to be all 'hey there how's it going 'ol buddy' to me. But I want to see her. I want to see what she's done for herself. I want proof that she's moved on," he pleaded, wondering if what he was saying made any sense to Izzie.

Every part of Izzie's brain screamed to not let Derek anywhere near the little girl. But her heart said otherwise. Something about the spark in his eyes that was begging to see Taylor was ripping her apart and she knew she would want someone to do the same for her if she ever decided to try and find her daughter. Eventually, her heart won out and she nodded reluctantly, motioning for Derek to follow her to the daycare centre.

He stood at the window to the room, watching as the little girl sat at one of the plastic tables, wrapping one of her fingers around a dark curl at the tip of her hair. She sat quietly, not playing with the other kids, just sitting with a small smile on her face and watching a tiny baby on a mat across the room.

Izzie stood beside him, a grin plastered to her face. She loved watching Taylor. For her, it was as though she got another chance at raising a kid, at experiencing all the things she missed out on with her own daughter.

"She's a cutie, huh?" Izzie asked, still not taking her eyes off of Taylor.

"She's adorable," Derek answered. "Can we go in?" he asked, his voice somewhat of a plea.

Izzie motioned to the door before saying, "After you."

He walked into the room, slowly making his way over to Taylor who continued to twirl her hair. When he got there, he knelt down beside her and gave her a smile. Izzie came up beside them and sat down, placing a warm hand on Taylor's leg.

"Sweetie this is Dr Shepherd. He used to work with your mommy," Izzie cooed, making a funny face at the little girl. She giggled and Derek's smile couldn't help but grow. She had the most adorable laugh.

"Hi Taylor," Derek said, extending his hand towards her. She looked at it a second, wondering what he wanted her to do with it, before reaching out her own tiny hand and shaking his.

"Hi she said quietly," staring at the man that was a stranger to her.

Derek couldn't help but notice the resemblance that Meredith and Taylor held, especially their eyes. He also couldn't help but notice the fact that she had his hair, colour and curls. His heart started beating a little faster and he could feel his pulse in his throat.

"How old did you say she was?" Derek asked.

"She'll be four in six months," Izzie said nonchalantly.

_Three years and six months , _he repeated in his head._ Almost four. _He had left four years ago. Their relationship had ended almost six months before he left. She had taken a lot of time off the last couple months before he left. _He looked just like her._


	3. He Can't Know

He took deep, calming breaths, trying to relax his nerves. There were a million guys who could have been Taylor's father. Ok, maybe a million was pushing it. But Derek knew there were others. The guy whose penis she had broken for starters … Steve … and then there was George. The thought of Meredith sharing a daughter with him, with anyone for that matter, made his heart pang in jealousy, an emotion he knew he shouldn't be having especially after all these years.

There were so many words unspoken, so many things he wanted to say to her that he never had the chance to do so before. Or was too afraid to. But he knew that he had no right to waltz back into her life and shake things up in a situation that she had no doubt made the best of.

But he still couldn't help but feel attached to the little girl for reasons unknown to him. Taylor was a stranger, the daughter of an estranged ex. There were no ties whatsoever to him. And still Meredith was avoiding him. As Derek sat in the resident locker room, he couldn't help but wonder if coming back was such a good idea after all.

XXXXXXXXXX 

Meredith, Christina, George and Alex all sat at the table on the terrace, deeply enjoying their well-deserved break. Meredith was in a bad mood because she had been paged at four in the morning and had missed seeing Taylor awake, which always made her mad. Meredith loved snuggling up to her daughter in the mornings and blowing raspberries on her tummy to wake her up. It was part of the tradition they had started since she was born. It was routine and it always upset her when she wasn't there to see the sleepy misguiding innocence that Taylor's eyes held in the morning or the way she said I love you.

"She was fine Meredith," George said, annoyed. The maternal Meredith was so different from the Meredith they knew before Taylor. Her daughter was always on her mind. "Izzie and I dropped her off at preschool and you know the daycare brings her to the daycare here everyday when she's done. Believe me Mer, she's fine," George said, stuffing more of his hamburger into his mouth and chewing loudly.

Meredith sighed. She knew she was being a pain in the ass with all her constant worrying about Taylor but she couldn't help it. The past four years had been all about that little girl and her world revolved around her.

"I can't believe Derek's here," Meredith said, giving up on eating her food and leaning back in her chair.

Everyone else stopped eating, not knowing what to say.

"Meredith there's no way he knows," Christina said, trying for once to be positive.

"I know that. But what if he finds out?" Meredith asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"He won't find out unless someone tells him," George said.

"Well at least she's not here at the hospital. Derek cannot find out about her," Meredith said.

"Mummy!" a little voice called from somewhere far away. Meredith whipped around, turning to stare at the voice she recognised immediately.

Taylor was running towards her, arms held out widely. Meredith turned back to look at her friends before turning back to her daughter and wrapping her in her arms. Meredith looked behind her again to where Izzie was running, breathless, to catch up with the little girl.

"Sorry she saw you and took off," Izzie said, plunking heavily down in a chair beside Christina who was laughing hysterically.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Christina said, motioning to Taylor who was playing with Meredith's necklace.

Everyone except Meredith laughed. "Not funny guys. What if Derek sees her?" Meredith worried aloud.

"Have you ever considered that fact that she _is _his daughter?" Izzie joked. "And besides, I went to visit her and she was so lonely. All the other kids were doing something and she was just sitting there all by herself!" Izzie protested.

Meredith smiled, glad that Izzie had rescued Taylor from the clutches of boredom and said thanks. "But she really does gotta get outta here. I can't risk Derek finding out about her!"

"Umm … Meredith," Izzie said, staring wide-eyed at a spot somewhere above Meredith's head. Meredith turned around and saw Derek head their way. In a swift motion, she shoved Taylor gently down and under the table.

"Mummy?" Taylor asked, confusion wrapped around her pretty little head. "What's going on?"

Meredith thought quickly. "Uh we're playing a game," Meredith said. "Ya a game. Here are the rules: it's a contest. no talking, no noise, no moving. Just sit there and be uber quiet for mommy," Meredith said, leaning back up and fixing her hair just as Derek approached and hoping to God that he didn't look under the table.

"If it isn't my favourite interns who are no longer interns," he said with a smile as he approached, unaware of how hostile they were going to be.

They just looked at him in awe, wondering where he got the nerve to just walk up to them as if four years had not passed.

"Meredith did the scans come back on Amber?" he asked.

Meredith was silent, trying to ignore the tugging at the hem of her scrubs where Taylor was sitting. She lightly shook her leg, trying to send Taylor the message that she was losing at the game.

"Uh ya they're on my desk," Meredith said, dropping her eyes to the table.

Derek nodded. "Mind if I take a seat?" he asked, not pulling out a chair but waiting for permission.

Meredith looked helplessly around the table, eyes begging for someone to intervene. George sprang into action.

"Actually Dr Shepherd if you don't mind I'd like to see the scans. I think I have a case that's similar and I'd like to compare the two with an expert," George said, standing up from his chair and pushing lightly on Derek's shoulder away from the table.

But Derek stood his ground and smiled politely, knowing that something was going on. Carefully, he tilted over and looked under the table, smiling at the little girl who was still tugging at the hem of her mother's scrubs.

"Hi Taylor," Derek said with a smirk before standing up and walking away with a stunned George."


	4. Walk Away

"How did he …?" Meredith asked, flabbergasted. Derek was not supposed to know Taylor even existed, let alone her name and that she would be under the table. "Did someone blab?"

She looked around the table threateningly, glaring at each person in turn and stopping when her eyes met Alex's.

"Hey don't look at me!" he defended. "I want absolutely nothing to do with any of this. The last thing I need is to get in between you and McSteamy."

"It's McDreamy," Izzie retaliated offhandedly.

Meredith reached down under the table and hoisted Taylor into the lap, playing with her little curls. "Sweetie how did you meet Dr Shepherd?" Meredith asked her daughter, tugging her necklace out of Taylor's grip.

"Auntie Izzie brought him to see me," Taylor answered nonchalantly as if she were talking about what colour her shows were.

Meredith looked up into Izzie face and served her with a death glare.

"What?" she asked, shoving some of her ceaser salad into her mouth to prevent her from talking. "Derek saw us earlier carrying her into the daycare centre and then when I went to go bring him a file earlier he asked me to see her. She's his daughter Mer!" Izzie said. "You can't keep him from her forever."

Meredith contemplated what she was saying. "Maybe not forever, but at least until he finds out on his own time. And by no help from any of you!" Meredith said, a slight smirk on her face. She pushed back her chair, Taylor still in her arms, and got up from the table. "I'll se you guys later," she said as she walked away.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The daycare centre was crowded, little kids running around everywhere. Meredith promptly checked Taylor in, put her in a corner with a colouring book, kissed her head and left, telling her, as always, that she would be back in a couple to hours to take her home.

She absolutely hated having to leave Taylor in there everyday but what else could she do? She like having her so close so that if she was having a bad day she could just go and take a break and cuddle her daughter close to her chest and smell her lavender hair and the worries of the world would melt away. But the fact that Taylor spent more time at the daycare centre than she did at home worried Meredith. She didn't want her daughter to grow up the same way she did, without a father and hardly knowing her mother because she worked so much.

Meredith walked over to the nurses' station and pulled a file towards her, opening it and quickly scanning her eyes over the contents.

"You could have told me," a voice said from behind her. She spun wildly around and came face to face with Derek.

"Told you what?" Meredith asked, her heart hammering. She couldn't help but think that Derek knew; knew that Taylor was his daughter and that he was going to take her away from her and bring her back to New York to be raised as Addison's daughter. She knew she was being irrational but again … she couldn't help it.

"That you had a daughter," Derek said.

Meredith was silent. "You're right. I could have. But you also could have said goodbye," she shot back, her voice dripping with venom. Meredith turned her back to him and continued to read the file.

"Mer, come on," Derek said, putting his hand on his shoulder and spinning her around to face him. "You know I'm not good with goodbyes. If I had had to say goodbye to you, then I never would have been able to leave. And it was something that I had to do, for both our sakes."

_'If only you had said goodbye," _Meredith thought to herself. "_Then you never would have left and we would be raising Taylor together."_ She knew that no matter how much she wanted to, Meredith could never say those things to his face.

She wondered if what she was doing was cruel; keeping a man from the daughter he didn't know he had as payback for causing her pain. Meredith knew it was, but she was still trying to lick her wounds even after four years and wasn't quite ready to give him to one thing she knew would make him happier than ever.

"Meredith say something," Derek said, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

Meredith opened and shut her mouth, word percolating on her tongue but she couldn't seem to force them out. "I have to go." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him as he had done to her. She had been so close to breaking, so close to ripping open the stitches made of lies and telling him everything about Taylor. But she forced herself not to; forced herself to think of the reason she had given herself long ago: that Taylor didn't deserve pain. That she didn't deserve to be rejected the same way she had, to be left in the cold and abandoned. She was doing this for Taylor. She was doing all of this for Taylor.

Even though he was silent, Meredith could tell that Derek was a couple feet behind her. So she stopped suddenly and turned to face him. His expression was stunned, wondering what she was going to do.

"Can I help you with something Dr Shepherd?" she asked, her voice filled with mock sincerity.

"You know you can call me Derek," he said.

"Dr Shepherd," she said adamantly, "What can I do for you? Because if there's nothing you need me for I have placed to be," she said coldly.

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" he asked.

"Are you ever going to stop causing me pain?" she asked back before turning back around and walking away for the second time.


	5. Fall To Crap

Meredith didn't know what she was going to do if Derek kept prodding. Sooner or later he was going to find out about Taylor and Meredith found a part of her subconscious mind wishing that he did. It would be a hell of a lot off her mind it everything was out in the open and she was no longer having to tiptoe around the issue.

Taylor was everything to Meredith and she only wanted her to be happy. But Derek … she didn't know if she could just open up and spill everything she had kept from him.

The sound of her three years old daughter's cries from her bedroom down the hall reached her ears and Meredith got up from her bed, walking to Taylor's room to comfort her before she woke George and Izzie. The little girl was sitting up in her bed, staring at the door as though waiting for Meredith to come and get her.

"Hey babe," Meredith said, sitting on the edge of Taylor's bed and stroking her hair out of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Taylor whimpered and Meredith swung her legs onto the bed, wrapping Taylor in her arms and allowing her to rest her head on her chest. "Sweetie what's wrong?" Meredith asked again. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Taylor nodded her head, not moving from her spot on Meredith chest.

"Wanna come sleep in Mommy's bed?" Meredith asked, not waiting for a reply because she already knew the answer and sliding her hands under Taylor in a position that would be easy to lift her up.

Sure enough, Taylor nodded. Meredith picked up her little weight with ease and carried her into her room, gently placing her down on her bed and climbing in after her, covering them both with the blanket. Taylor snuggled into her mother's warm embrace and Meredith looped her arms around her daughter. Meredith couldn't help but think that this was the way things were supposed to be.

XXXXXXXXXX 

The sun peeked through the curtains, attempting to reach the dark room. But the blinds shut it out, allowing the darkness to swallow the occupants and slip farther into the miraculous and scary world of their imaginations. Not even the noise of Izzie bustling around the kitchen making cupcakes could stir them from their slumber.

A light knock sounded from the front door and Izzie walked cautiously towards it, wondering who would be at the door at eight thirty in the morning on a Sunday. She swung it inwards, gaping at the good-looking man staring back at her from the stoop.

"Izzie," he said, his good-natured intentions coming through with the single word he spoke.

The tall, pretty blonde opposite him just stared him down, wondering where he got the audacity to just walk up to their house after everything Meredith had told him.

"Dr Shepherd," she replied coldly, wiping her flour caked hands on her apron. "Can help you with something?"

He dropped his head, not able to remember exactly what it was that had convinced him to come here. "Is Meredith home?" he asked, the first thing coming to mind coming out of his mouth.

"She's asleep," Izzie said harshly. Derek nodded wirely and Izzie's tough Christina-like demeanour that didn't suit her dropped as she sighed. "Would you like to see her anyways?"

Derek looked up from his shoes, startled. "I umm …" he didn't know how to reply. "Please," he managed.

Izzie swung the door farther open and he stepped in, kicking off his shoes and looking around the house that hadn't changed awkwardly.

"Follow me," Izzie said quietly, wiping more flour off of her hands and walking up the stairs. Derek followed her, walking on the tips of his toes to makes as little noise as possible.

Izzie led him down the familiar hall to the room in the middle and swung the door silently open, allowing a sliver of light to creep into the otherwise dark room. She gave him a small, sad smile before saying, "Don't wake them," and leaving him to stare.

Derek stepped carefully in, knowing that he shouldn't be doing this. Meredith had moved on. She had a daughter now. She wasn't spending her time doting and pining over him. She had Taylor to think about now. Cautiously, he closed the door behind him and walked to the foot of the bed he was so familiar with. The faint outlines of Meredith and Taylor could be seen through the darkness, Taylor cuddled up in Meredith's embrace. Derek smiled to himself.

No matter how much he tried to convince himself, he still couldn't shake the feeling of missing something; that Taylor was somehow connected to him. Derek chalked it down to being away from Meredith for so long and the fact that he wanted to be with her and that he had no children of his own.

Taylor stirred and rolled away from Meredith, sitting up in bed, rubbing her tiny hands over her sleepy eyes. Derek smiled again. He watched as she ran her hands through her hair, twisting her finger around one of the curls that lay unrumpled at the tips. She turned so she was lying on her stomach and slid off the tall bed, stopping at the foot when she caught sight of Derek.

He bent down so they were eye level and he gave her an encouraging smile. She twisted her hair shyly.

"Hey Taylor," he said. "Remember me?"

She looked at him for a minute, attempting to see through the darkness to his face. Slowly and unsurely, she nodded. Derek grinned. He noticed that, now more than ever, she had Meredith's eyes.

"You wanna come downstairs with me? Auntie Izzie is making cupcakes," Derek offered.

Taylor's face broke out into an unmistakable smile and she held her arms out, waiting to be lifted up. Derek picked her up from the cold floor, straightening her red Dora the Explorer pyjama pants and plain white t-shirt. He lightly tickled her tiny stomach and she let out a little giggle.

Derek gave her a guilty grin before saying, "Let's not wake Mommy," and walking out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

He carried her down the stairs, bouncing her a little with each step and making funny popping noises that made Taylor laugh. Derek walked into the kitchen, Taylor resting comfortably on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. A smile graced Izzie's face as her goddaughter was carried into the room, followed by a look a slight anger.

Derek held one hand up in defense. "Hey don't look at me!" he said, gently readjusting Taylor. "She was awake when I went in."

Izzie smiled understandingly and nodded her head. Derek let out a sigh of relief. "Sweetie you want a cupcake?" Izzie asked and Taylor immediately perked up, taking the warm, moist cupcake from her aunt and taking a bite out of it.

Shepherd grinned as crumbs from the cupcake fell to the floor. "You really should be leaving," Izzie said, cleaning up the crumbs that Taylor had dropped. Derek nodded. "Taylor come see Auntie Izzie," Izzie said, holding out her arms to take Taylor in.

But the little girl nuzzled her head farther into the crook of Derek's neck, spilling more crumbs over his shirt as she did so.

"Apparently not," Izzie said, glad that Taylor was already getting attached to her father, though neither of them knew.

Derek walked over more to his left and took Taylor to the window, staring out at the backyard where the swingset was sitting. The light sound of feet tapping down the stairs reached their ears but before anyone could be seen, a familiar female voice called out.

"Izzie have you seen Taylor?" Meredith called from the hall as she walked towards the kitchen.

Izzie looked at Derek in complete and totally shock and stared wide-eyed at him as though telling him to do something. But it was too late. Meredith walked into the kitchen and took in the sight before her; Izzie, covered in chocolate chip cupcake batter, staring in guilt at her, and Derek standing by the window, Taylor tight in his grasp.

Just then, right in that moment, she felt her world fall to crap.


	6. Secrets and ScoobyDoo Slippers

She couldn't believe it. This was not happening. It wasn't. It couldn't be. In confusion, she lifted her right hand up to her left arm and pinched, hard. But the image before her didn't change. Derek was still standing there, Taylor in his arms, at the window in the kitchen with Izzie beside him with pleading eyes.

She was stuck. For some reason, she couldn't seem to move her feet, couldn't seem to unglue herself from her spot by the swinging door. She moved her eyes to Taylor, curled up comfortably in Derek's arms, evidence of Izzie's cupcake apparent on her shirt. Her head was resting lightly against his shoulder and the only sign that she had even seen her mother was the ear-to-ear grin spread over her innocent face.

"Mommy," she cooed, raising her head from Derek's shoulder to look at her better.

Derek looked down to the tiny girl in his arms, then lifted his eyes back to Meredith who still had not moved. He could see the look of longing for her daughter in her eyes and hesitantly crossed the floor towards Meredith, stopping a couple feet from her and holding Taylor out to her.

Meredith was caught off guard. For some reason, she had been expecting Derek to cling onto Taylor and not let her go. Shaking her head back to reality, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and took Taylor from Derek's grasp with a "Hey you."

Taylor looped her arms loosely around her mothers' neck and kept her eyes on her father, wondering why he wasn't around more. She liked him. She really did. She just wished her mother liked him more.

Though she wasn't quite four, Taylor could still seem to sense the great dislike her mother had for the charming man in front of them. She didn't get it. Her was really nice. He let her have cupcakes for breakfast. And by Taylor's standards, any man who allowed her to eat cupcakes for breakfast was ok in her books.

Meredith finally snapped out of her reverie and her eyes came back into focus as she walked across the kitchen and gently placed Taylor down on the counter, grabbing a wet cloth from the sink and dabbing at the little girl's messy face.

"Look at you Tay," she said, swatting away the last of the crumbs. "You're a mess." She was blatantly ignoring Derek. Both she, Derek and Izzie knew it.

"Cold," Taylor giggled, shying away from the cold cloth that Meredith had on the back of her neck. Taylor brought her shoulder to her ear and scrunched up her nose.

Meredith, Derek and Izzie smiled. Stopping and staring at her daughter, Meredith removed the cloth and gathered Taylor easily into her arms, walking over to Derek was a determined look on her face. Izzie was taken aback. In all honesty, she had fully expected Meredith to just walk away and not look back. The fact that she was even acknowledging him was a huge step.

"Derek can you watch her for a second?" Meredith asked, gesturing to Taylor in her arms.

Derek looked at her in awe. He had fully expected her to not even allow him near the little girl again, let alone willing give her over for reasons unknown to him. He snapped out of his thoughts with an "Of course," and gently took Taylor from Meredith, watching as she approached Izzie, mumbling, "Can I talk to you?" under her breath and watching them walk away.

Derek turned his eyes to Taylor who shrugged innocently at him, green eyes that mimicked her mother's shining in admiration.

XXXXXXXXXX 

She stood there staring at her, hands planted firmly on her hips in what Izzie recognised as her 'angry stance'. Or so Taylor had dubbed it.

"Mer I'm sooo sorry," Izzie said, her face screwed up into the best apologetic look she could conjure.

Her demeanour dropped slightly as she sighed and collapsed onto the couch behind her. "How did this happen?" Meredith asked, running her fingers through her sleep tousled hair. "How did I let it get this far?"

Izzie sat down tentatively beside her friend, placing a gentle hand on her knee. "Let what get this far?" she asked calmly.

"The lies," Meredith said. "I know that I should have told Derek. I do. Really. It's just that …" She let the rest of her sentence hang in the air. But it didn't matter. Izzie didn't need her to finish. She already knew what she was talking about.

"You were trying to protect Taylor," she finished. Meredith nodded solemnly. "So your not mad?" Her voice was tentative, questioning.

"No," Meredith answered immediately and with confidence. "He's going to find out eventually. And I will tell him. But it's best to break it to him gently. Sort of let him find out on his own."

She knew it didn't really make sense. She was just stalling and buying time before she had to rip the man's heart out. But Izzie nodded anyways. It made sense in a twisted sort of way.

"I understand," Izzie said with an encouraging smile.

XXXXXXXXXX 

George ran his hands through his semi-long hair as he padded down the stairs in his Scooby-Doo slippers; a gift from Taylor last Christmas. The house was unusually quiet. Normally by this time Taylor could be heard running around the house screaming about one thing or another or singing along to her favourite Dora songs. But there was nothing. Not even the sound of the TV.

He chalked it down to Taylor being outside on her swing, her all-time favourite gift ever. Walking down the remaining stairs with sleep still in his eyes, George pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen and stopped when his sight fell upon what he was seeing.

He raised his fists to his eyes and wiped the sleep from them, unable to believe what he was seeing. There was Derek, standing in the middle of his kitchen, with Taylor in his arms no less. Like Meredith before him, he found himself unable to move.

"Uncle George," Taylor said excitedly, a smile lighting up her face.

With a shake of his head, George gave her a toothy grin back and moved from his spot, walking to the island and pouring himself a bowl of cereal. Looking back up to Derek with a confused look on his face, he shoved a spoonful of Corn Pops into his mouth and said simply, "So I guess she told you."

Derek looked at George, eyebrows knitted together and eyes burning. "Told me what?"

George stared back at him, mouth agape, cereal spilling over his chin. He wiped it stubbornly away and stared back at Derek and Taylor, wondering how to undo the mess he just made.


	7. Truth

Derek stared at George, Taylor still tight in his grasp. He watched as a line of milk ran it's way down George's chin and he brushed it away impatiently as another drool of milk came spilling out. Giving up, George swallowed the remaining food in his mouth and put his spoon back down in the bowl, trying to make his heart stop beating a million miles per minute and raking his brain for a good lie.

"Tell me what George?" Derek questioned, repositioning Taylor on his hip and taking a step towards him as he gulped nervously.

"Noth … noth … nothing," he stumbled, tripping over his words.

"George," Derek said, his voice holding a warning tone.

"What's going on here guys," a perking voice rang out from the hall before a bang as the Izzie pushed open the swinging door, closely followed by Meredith.

Derek kept his eyes glued to George for a moment longer before turning his attention to Meredith and Izzie who were watching with intent. "George was just about to tell me something that he supposed you told me," Derek said with a raise of his eyebrows.

Izzie looked to Meredith with a confused look on her face, silently asking her if she had understood a word of Derek's statement. Meredith looked back at Izzie, an identical look on her face.

"Let me rephrase that," Derek said, noting the looks on the girl's faces. "And I quote, 'so I guess she told you'." There was a pregnant pause in the air before Derek continued. "Now what exactly did he suppose you told me Meredith?" Derek asked, his voice holding a slight accusation.

Meredith turned angry eyes to George who looked on helplessly. "I don't know," she replied smoothly. "You'd have to ask George," she said, a coy grin placed on her face. Meredith knew that she was riding her whole secret on George at that moment, but she knew that he would never, ever tell Derek anything.

He looked back at her, a helpless look on his face with pleading eyes. Meredith just gave him an encouraging smile behind Derek's back and mouthed the word 'improvise'.

"Umm …" George started. "Well …"

Derek looked at him with piercing eyes, silently begging him to answer the question.

"What I supposed Meredith told you was that she had a daughter," George said, his face lighting up as he finished the statement, clearly proud of himself for his lying skills. "Yup. Yep. That would be it," he said with a jubilant smile.

Derek swivelled back around to Meredith, a disbelieving look on his face. Meredith, sensing that he was going to start asking a lot more questions, quickly leapt into action and walked towards him, extending her arms towards Taylor and saying, "Come here babe," and attempting to extract the little girl from Derek's arms.

But her efforts were rewarded with a "No. But I wanna stay with Daddy," from Taylor.

Meredith paused, dropping her arms to side and staring wide-eyed at her daughter. Derek also had his eyes glued to Taylor, then swiftly moved them to Meredith, waiting for her response.

"Sweetie," Meredith replied, eyes darting back and forth between George and Izzie for help. "We talked about this remember?" Meredith asked, reaching out and grabbing her reluctant child from the doctor's arms. "You're daddy doesn't live here," she cooed, noting the tears starting to build inside Taylor's massive green-grey eyes, providing a reflective surface that Meredith could see herself in.

"But I want Derek to be my daddy," Taylor said, sniffling back her tears.

Meredith looked to Derek, her face displaying an apologetic smile. He gave her a quick half smile back.

"Babe," Meredith said, at a loss for words. "You have a daddy already," Meredith stated simply. "Now why doesn't auntie Izzie take you upstairs and get you some clothes," Meredith said, walking over to Izzie and handing Taylor over to her.

Izzie took her gratefully in her arms and motioned George to follow. Meredith and Derek listened as the sound of Izzie singing 'All Aboard The Choo Choo Train' as they proceeded up the stairs and they laughed.

"She's adorable Meredith," Derek said shyly, knowing that he was stepping into unknown territory.

"Thanks," she replied modestly.

"So where is her dad?" Derek asked, already wincing inside and preparing for a blow from one of her tiny ineffectual fists.

But surprisingly, Meredith maintained her calm and simply tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear before answering. "Not around," she stated simply.

Derek nodded, sensing that she didn't want to talk about it anymore but pressing the issue anyways. "Who would give up a kid like that?" he asked with a slight smile.

_'One who doesn't know about her,'_ Meredith thought to herself. "It doesn't matter," she said, showing him for certain this time that the issue was to be laid to rest.

He nodded understandingly.

"You should probably get going," Meredith said, taking a slight step to the side to allow him room to pass.

He sighed, knowing that at some point this was going to happen. Derek nodded and took a step around her, starting to walk down the hall when he turned back to face her. "Take care of her Meredith. She's far to precious to loose," he said with a serious face before turning and walking away.

XXXXXXXXXXX 

Meredith sighed as she tipped the cup of coffee to her lips and allowed the warmth of the caffeine to fill her. She dropped her eyes to the chart in her hands and sighed again. She hated Monday mornings. And the caffeine still hadn't kicked in. With a jolt, she spotted Derek standing at the window of the daycare, staring intently at something inside; something she assumed to be their daughter. Now she was awake.

With a new sense of alertness, she walked towards him, stopping beside his frame and following his gaze to the little girl who was deeply immersed in a colouring book at a little plastic table in the corner.

"She loves to colour," Meredith said, capturing his attention.

He turned to look at her, surprised, and smiled brightly. "Ya," he said simply.

In a sudden wave of unexplainable guilt, the words spilt out of her like water through a sieve; "There's something I need to tell you."

He turned to her fully now, body facing hers, a look of worry crossing his handsome face. "What is it?" he asked, his tone full of concern.

"Not here," Meredith said, turning and walking away, knowing that he would be following. She led him to nearly the other side of the hospital before stopping outside and elevator and stepping in, watching as he followed with a confused expression on his face.

After the ding of the first floor but before the ding of the second, Meredith hit the emergency stop button, turning to Derek and gathering all the courage she could muster. He stared back at her, their bodies facing each other, with a now extremely worried look on his face.

"Mer what's going on?" he asked, wanting to reach out and touch her but thinking better of it.

"It's about Taylor," she said, stalling for all the time she could get.

"What about her?" he asked, his voice panicked now. "Is she ok? She's not hurt is she?" he rambled.

"She's yours," she stumbled out.

Derek stared at her, a look of blatant shock on his face, disbelieving the two words she had just said but knowing them to be true all the same. "What did you say?" he whispered quietly.

"I intended on telling you. Really, I did. But the day I went to tell you, you had left for New York with Addison," she mumbled, biting on her lip.

"Taylor's my daughter?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"Ya," Meredith said, barely audible. "She's your daughter."

They stood there for a minute; Derek leaning against the wall of the elevator with his eyes closed before he reached out and slammed the start button. Meredith jumped with the force of the slam. As they reached the second floor and the doors slid open to reveal a group of people waiting, Derek stormed out, leaving Meredith staring wildly after him.

XXXXXXXXXX 

She stood in her kitchen two days later, watching as Izzie prepared dinner. There was silence. Neither needed to say anything. To break the deafening quiet, the doorbell rang and Meredith slid herself down from the stool, walking solemnly towards the front door. She hadn't talked to Derek since her confession in the elevator, although she'd heard from the daycare lady that he had been by to visit Taylor every free moment he got.

As she swung the door open, shock ran through her at the sight of the dishevelled man before her. "Derek," she breathed out in disbelief.

"Meredith," he said curtly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, tucking a piece of hair lightly behind her ear.

Derek took a deep sigh and dropped his head in shame before saying what he really didn't want to say. Calming his nerves, he raised his head back up and looked into her anxious face.

He knew that he should have talked to her before. He was just in such shock. After three years of being gone he comes back and finds out about a daughter that he never knew he had. And now, all he could seem to think about was Taylor. He knew that it was just as much his fault as Meredith's. If only he had wound up the nerve to just say goodbye, then she probably would have told him about the baby and they would have been raising her together. But he hadn't. And now here they were.

He raised his head to look at her expectant face, not believing he was about to do this.

With one last sigh, he opened his mouth and said the words he had been rehearsing all day, "I'm going back to New York."

He watched as her face fell and already regretted the next part of his statement.

"And I'm taking Taylor with me."

XXXXXXXXXX 

**Ok guys just keep reading. I promise it's not gonna be anything like Derek moving back to New York and taking Taylor with him. Derek would NEVER, EVER do that. And I wanna stay true to the characters so that's not what's gonna happen. Ssorry about the wait. I'm lazy. Ok well maybe not, but I've had sooooo many volleyball practices and games lately that I hardly have time for anything else!**

**Anyways …. Until next time. **

**Don't forget to review!**

**Oh and a thanks to Carly (my sister) on this one. Shes a great inspiration. **

** 3Megan&Carly 3**


	8. Maybe

She stared at him, world spinning madly around her. Things started to twirl, started to whirl madly until everything around her was nothing but streaks of multiple colours, rotating at mind-blowing speeds around her. She could slightly make out Derek standing in front of her, arms out as though ready to catch her if she fell. And she would. She could feel it. Her limbs had started to go numb and she had lost all feeling, emotional and physical. Meredith could feel her body starting to sway and an image of her tiny daughter on the opposite end of the country with a man she hardly knew was the last thought that crossed her head as her mind went blank.

Derek shot out his arms as she started to crumple and gathered her into his chest, pulling her close and hoisting her back to her feet. Carefully, he carried her back into her house, taking note of Taylor who had perched herself delicately on the bottom step of the stairs, watching the absurd seen of her father carrying her unconscious mother into the living room.

Derek brought her to the couch and gently placed her down, giving Izzie, who was staring at the scene with Taylor now in her arms, an apologetic look.

"Dr Stevens, a cold cloth if you wouldn't mind," he said with a coy grin, placing himself cautiously on the end of the cushion. Raising his head, he brought his eyes to the doorframe where Taylor was standing, leaning nonchalantly against the frame.

He stared at her for a minute before flashing her a smile, wondering to himself why he never realized that she was his daughter right off the bat. She looked so much like him. From her dark, curly hair, bangs pulled to the side with a butterfly clip, to the way she stood and the pouty look that was gracing her face. Except for her eyes. That she got from her mother. Piercing green eyes that made it seem like she was looking right through you. Derek couldn't get over how much she had that same look that Meredith got when she was confused or hurt.

"Come here sweetie," Derek said, extending out his arms to his daughter who was looking on rather distraught.

Taylor looked hesitantly towards him, debating on whether to go to him. She was just so damn confused. Only days earlier, her mother was telling her as she extracted her from Derek's arms that her father lived far away and that Derek wasn't her daddy. But then, two days ago, she sat her down and told her that she lied, that everything she had ever told her about her father was fictional. That Derek was, in fact, her father. And for anyone, let alone a little girl who hadn't even seen her fourth birthday, confusion was inevitable.

Giving in on her desire for comfort, Taylor walked towards Derek, stepping into his embrace and resting her head on his shoulder, eyes glued to her mother who seemed to be sleeping.

Stepping into the room, Izzie took sight of Taylor, wrapped tight in her fathers' embrace, and Meredith, still out cold on the couch beside them. Wet cloth held tight in her grasp, the tall blonde stepped into the room and cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the occupants.

Derek smiled gratefully and extracted Taylor from his arms, placing her gently down on the ground. Izzie walked over and handed Derek the washcloth, stepping back and watching as he pressed the cloth to her forehead and waited as she came too.

Groggily, she opened her eyes and groaned, pushing herself into a sitting position and looking around the room. Eyes falling upon her daughter, she held open her arms and was immediately greeted with the three-year old in her lap.

With tears in her eyes for remembrance of her conversation with Derek only a couple minutes ago, Meredith buried her head deep within Taylor's hair and fought back tears. She wouldn't let him take her from her. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Taylor was her life and without her … it just wasn't worth living.

"Meredith …" Derek said softly, knowing what was on her mind.

"You can't take her Derek," Meredith said, voice barely above a whisper. "You can't."

"Umm …" Izzie said, standing above them awkwardly. "I'll just …" She jabbed her thumb in the general direction behind her and turned on her heel, walking hesitantly away from the scene.

"Meredith," Derek attempted again. He knew that she would never just hand Taylor over without a fight.

She didn't respond, just buried her head farther into Taylor's neck, pulling the little girl tighter to her chest. She would be damned if after almost four years, Derek just walked into their lives and took Taylor away. She promised herself when her daughter was born that she would never let this happen; that Taylor would never be taken away from her.

"Meredith," Derek said again, a hint of a warning tone in his voice.

She raised her head reluctantly, eyes locking with his.

"Meredith you need to hear me through," he said, his voice calm and quiet, trying his best to keep her demeanour the same.

"What so you can tell me all about how I'm an unfit mother and how it's all my fault that you never got to know Taylor and how your taking her back to New York with you so you can be the perfect little family with Addison," Meredith said, voice dripping with venom and distain.

Derek looked at her, eyes pooling with hurt yet understanding. He knew he should have been clearer when he said he was taking Taylor back to New York with him. He should have known that Meredith would have taken it like he was taking away her daughter forever.

"Look at me," he said softly, reaching out with his hand and tilting her chin upwards so their eyes locked again. "You need to hear this through."

He tried to ignore the tears pooling at the brim of her eyes and the quavering of her lips as she tried to fight them. It was making his heart break to see her so broken.

"I'm not taking Taylor away from you," he said softly but with meaning. "Nor will I ever. And what in the name of hell would make you believe that I would think that you were an unfit mother?" he asked, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

But her face remained deadly serious.

"Meredith look at her," he said, gesturing to the tiny ball that had curled herself up in her mothers lap. "She's polite and she's sweet and she's stubborn. And she's the most adorable thing that I have ever seen in my life." He paused, looking to Taylor's porcelain face who was staring expectantly up at him.

"And I look at the way you hold her, the way you look at her. And I know that there's no place that she belongs other than right here; in your arms."

Meredith refused to remove her eyes from his, knowing that everything he was saying was true.

"Then why did you say you were going to New York and taking her with you?" Meredith asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

Derek smiled. "I want her to see the city. I'm going back to get my stuff. I talked to Burke a couple days ago and since he's chief now he signed my contract. I'm moving back to Seattle. And I'm only going to New York to get my stuff." He paused a second before adding to the statement. "And sign the divorce papers I had Addison draw up."

Meredith stared at him, eyes booring disbelievingly into his.

"When I found out that Taylor was my daughter, I phoned Addison and told her. And I also told her that I needed to move back here to be with her. There was no way in hell that I was going to let her grow up without me." He paused. "And I also told her that I wanted a divorce. She promised to draw up the papers if only I brought Taylor back with me. She just wants to meet her. She also said that you were welcome to come as well."

Derek took note of the fact that it was a completely one-sided conversation. He watched as Meredith's entire demeanour changed; from sad and depressed, her whole world crumbling before her eyes, to happy, eyes shining.

She looked down to her lap, to Taylor who was now looking at her instead of her father, and smiled. Taylor pushed herself into more of a sitting position and looked between her parents, head darting back and forth between them as though watching a tennis match.

"What'd'ya say babe?" Meredith asked her daughter, taking out Taylor's butterfly clip which was falling out and repositioning it. "Want to go on a trip to New York with daddy?"

"What's You Nork?" she asked, eyes puzzled.

Meredith and Derek laughed.

"It's a place that you have to go on a plane to get there," Derek said, wrapping one of his fingers around Taylor's soft curls.

"Ok," Taylor replied perkily. "Mommy are you coming too?"

Meredith looked to Derek before dropping her eyes to her child. "No sweetie. This is a special trip for you and Daddy only. It'll help you get to know each other better," Meredith said, raising her eyes back up to Derek and smiling.

Derek grinned and couldn't help but think that _maybe_, just _maybe_, things were going to work out after all.


End file.
